Clark Griswold wants a perfect Christmas. The movie delivers everything but. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation runs 97 minutes of Chevy Chase doing what Chevy Chase does best: being wrong about everything.
It is the third film in the Vacation series, and it is the final one in the series to involve John Hughes and National Lampoon. That matters. Hughes wrote the story from a short piece he published in National Lampoon magazine called “Christmas ’59,” and the film draws on that source material for its emotional core. The setup is simple: Clark plans a big family holiday, buys too many lights, and then watches his plans fall apart.
The result is a comedy that knows what it is. It is loud, it is messy, and it is designed to be watched with the whole family gathered around. It is also a film that treats its lead character with affection even as it lets him fail spectacularly.
Trailer, via Warner Bros. Rewind.
Clark Griswold’s Plan
Clark Griswold lives in the Chicago area with his wife Ellen and their two children, Audrey and Rusty. His plan is simple: a good old-fashioned Christmas with everyone together. He drives the family out to the country to pick a tree, chooses the largest one they can find, and then realizes they forgot to bring tools. So they uproot it instead.
That single decision sets off the film’s first chain of events. The tree is too large to fit anywhere. The neighbors, Todd and Margo Chester, are irritated by the whole thing. Clark’s parents arrive, bicker constantly, and annoy the whole household.
Then comes the lights. Clark puts 25,000 of them on the outside of his house, and they cause a citywide power shortage once he finally gets them working. Inside the house, the dinner on Christmas Eve goes badly because the turkey is cooked too long. A cat dies after touching the lights. A relative named Lewis accidentally starts a fire. And through it all, Clark keeps smiling.
The Guests Arrive
The chaos grows when Ellen’s cousin Catherine arrives with her husband Eddie Johnson, two of their children, and their Rottweiler. Eddie admits the family has been living in an RV. Clark and Ellen worry when the children doubt Santa exists, and Clark offers to buy gifts for them so they can still enjoy Christmas.
Later, Clark’s senile Aunt Bethany and cantankerous Uncle Lewis arrive for the holiday. Clark wonders why his boss Frank Shirley has not given him his yearly bonus, which he has been counting on to pay for a new swimming pool. He has already made a down payment, even though he does not have the money in the bank.
The Cast and the Recasts
Chevy Chase returns as Clark Griswold, and Beverly D’Angelo returns as Ellen. Randy Quaid returns as Cousin Eddie, and Miriam Flynn returns as Cousin Catherine. These four were the only actors to reprise their roles from the earlier Vacation films.
The children are a different story. Johnny Galecki takes over the role of Rusty from Jason Lively and Anthony Michael Hall. The casting process for Rusty was competitive, and several actors were considered before Galecki got the part. One actor who did not get it was Leonardo DiCaprio, whose casting team member Heidi Levitt later described him as too “thoughful” and not “goofy enough” for the character.
Diane Ladd won the role of Nora, Clark’s mother, over June Allyson and Alice Ghostley. She wore a dress belonging to her friend Shelley Winters’ mother during her audition. Model Christie Brinkley declined to return as Rusty’s sister, following the advice of her late father, who disliked the idea of her becoming typecast. The role went to Nicolette Scorsese.
| Role | Actor | Previous Film |
|---|---|---|
| Clark Griswold | Chevy Chase | Yes |
| Ellen Griswold | Beverly D’Angelo | Yes |
| Eddie Johnson | Randy Quaid | Yes |
| Catherine | Miriam Flynn | Yes |
| Rusty Griswold | Johnny Galecki | New |
| Audrey Griswold | Juliette Lewis | New |
What Works and What Does Not
The film’s strengths are its physical comedy and its timing. Chase’s delivery is precise, and the pratfalls land because the stakes are high. The lights are a visual gag that pays off across the film. The dinner scene, where the turkey is ruined, is a genuine disaster. The cat’s death is grim, but it fits the tone.
What does not work is the pacing. The middle section drags, and some of the jokes repeat themselves. The film is at its best when it is chaotic, and at its worst when it slows down to explain itself.
Here is how the film’s major sequences rank, from strongest to weakest:
- The lights going on and causing the power shortage
- The dinner on Christmas Eve
- The RV arrival with Eddie and his children
- The tree uprooting and transport back home
- The aunt and uncle arriving on Christmas Eve
Final Word
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a film that understands its audience. It is a comedy built for families to watch together, and it delivers on that promise. It is not subtle, and it does not need to be. The film knows what it is doing, and it does it well.
It is also a film with a problem: it is too long. Some of the middle stretches feel padded, and the repetition of the chaos starts to wear thin. The film’s reputation has grown over time. It is now viewed as a Christmas classic, and that status is earned. It is a film that rewards repeated viewings, even if it is not perfect.
It is a comedy about a man who cannot stop trying.
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